Town council has voted to tear down Pincher Creek’s former RCMP headquarters at 659 Main St.

A previous council funded the project in its 2020 operating budget, but demolition was put on hold when the Government of Alberta asked town hall to use municipal buildings for a Covid-19 testing centre, according to a staff report attached to council’s Feb. 13 agenda. 

Budget 2023 includes $200,000 for demolition, meaning the project won’t come at extra costs to taxpayers. 

Pincher Creek RCMP left the building when their Hunter Street headquarters opened in 2008. A number of organizations have since rented space, including the McMann Youth Family and Community Services Association and the Pincher Creek food bank. 

Speaking at chambers Feb. 13, Mayor Don Anderberg broadly suggested that the building site could be used for housing development.

“This is probably one of the primary places that we could put shovels in the ground rather quickly,” Anderberg told council, noting that the town owns some of the surrounding property.

The building is too far gone to be refurbished, he continued. 

Apart from needing a new roof, windows and a ventilation system, the building has “foundation issues” and contains asbestos, the staff report notes.

Council unanimously approved demolition, following a motion by Coun. Brian Wright. 

Council has not yet awarded a contract for the project.